The Groundtruth from a combat veteran, backed up by independent research and historical study. Information beneficial to the Troops. And a touch of objective politics, as it relates to the subjects at hand.

This site is unabashedly Pro-American and Pro-Military however none of the views expressed here are to be considered as endorsed, proposed, or supported by the Department of Defense or any other Agency, government, public, or private. http://waronterrornews.typepad.com/

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Shadow of the Sword

SSgt Workman is featured in the Hall of Heroes and a book review on this from Marine Till Death that read it as it was written: http://waronterrornews.typepad.com/home/2008/12/shadow-of-the-sword-by-jeremiah-workman-w-john-bruning.html

http://waronterrornews.typepad.com/home/2008/12/ssgt-jeremiah-workman-navy-cross-usmc-iraq-marion-oh.html and links to prior articles.

The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced today that the remains of a serviceman, killed in action during the Vietnam War, have been identified and will be returned to his family for burial with full military honors.

Army Capt. James M. Johnstone, of Baton Rouge, La., will be buried Dec. 12, in Arlington National Cemetery. On Nov. 19, 1966, Johnstone was the pilot of an OV-1A Mohawk aircraft that crashed while conducting a daytime reconnaissance mission over Attapu Province, Laos. Nearby U.S. aircrews reported seeing the wing of Johnstone's aircraft hit a tree during a climb to avoid a nearby ridgeline. No parachutes were seen exiting the aircraft. Heavy enemy presence in the area prevented recovery efforts.

From 1993 to 2009, joint U.S.-Lao People's Democratic Republic (L.P.D.R.) teams, led by the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC), interviewed multiple witnesses, and conducted several investigations and excavations of the crash site in Attapu Province. The teams located human remains, military equipment, an identification card bearing Johnstone's name, and aircraft wreckage of an OV-1A, which correlated with the last known location of Johnstone's aircraft.

To identify the remains, scientists from JPAC analyzed circumstantial evidence and used forensic identification tools, such as dental comparisons.

Today, the U.S. government continues to work closely with the governments of Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia to recover Americans lost during the Vietnam War.

Friday, December 07, 2012

The proposed constitution of Egypt is long (approximately 15,000 words), with governmental provisions mixed with ideological and religious philosophies. I have been searching for the full text since it was announced to have been proposed. I finally found it here. The full text follows the break while some key provisions are:

Article 81: rights and freedoms shall be practiced in a manner not conflicting with the principles pertaining to State and society

Article 219: The principles of Islamic Sharia include general evidence, foundational rules, rules of jurisprudence, and credible sources accepted in Sunni doctrines and by the larger community.

Principle Ten — Arab unity is a call of history and of the future, and a demand of destiny. Such unity is to be reinforced through the integration and fraternity with countries of the Nile Valley and of the Muslim world,....

Article 1: The Egyptian people are part of the Arab and Islamic nations,

Article 2: Islam is the religion of the state and Arabic its official language. Principles of Islamic Sharia are the principal source of legislation.

Article 4: Al-Azhar is an encompassing independent Islamic institution, with exclusive autonomy over its own affairs, responsible for preaching Islam, theology and the Arabic language in Egypt and the world. Al-Azhar Senior Scholars are to be consulted in matters pertaining to Islamic law.

Principle Eleven — Egypt’s... and Al-Azhar, with its history as a mainstay of national identity, the Arabic language and Islamic Sharia, and as a beacon for moderate enlightened thought.

Article 12: The State shall .. foster the Arabization of education, science and knowledge.

Article 18: All money with no owner belongs to the State.

Article 31: Insulting or showing contempt toward any human being shall be prohibited.

Article 43: The State shall guarantee the freedom to practice religious rites and to establish places of worship for the divine religions, as regulated by law.

Article 44: Insult or abuse of all religious messengers and prophets shall be prohibited.

Article 54: Addressing public authorities should not be in the name of groups, with the exception of juridical persons.

Article 60: Religious education and national history are core subjects of pre-university education in all its forms.

Article 71: The State shall provide care for children and youth; shall support their development spiritually, morally....

Together, along with other provisions, the Egyptian Constitution (proposed) mean that there are no rights, except those allowed by the government, and as intepreted by Islamist religious figures, as being compliant with Sharia Law. Caveats, such as "as prescribed by law" mean that while the constitution doesn't specifically require all politicians to be Muslims, the government can impose that stipulation, or a Sharia Judge could, as a tenet of Sharia Law. And since the constitution requires the spiritual and moral education of all children to fall under its jurisdiction, it can impose an islamization of the Coptic Christians and other religious minorities.

Al-Azhar is an Islamist university created by and associated with the Egyptian Caliphate of the 10th Century.

A problem with such a long and complicated constitution is that everything is caveated, and can be convoluted.

Syrian activists say the army has bombed two Damascus suburbs and poured in military reinforcements in an effort to try to reclaim territory controlled by rebels.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Friday the army fired rockets at the rebel-held Daraya and Moadamiah suburbs southwest of the capital. The group said it feared that troops massing on the suburbs' outskirts could be the prelude to an imminent ground assault.

On Thursday, United Nations peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi said the United States and Russia agree on the need to find a “creative solution” to bring Syria back from the brink.

Brahimi held three-way talks with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on the sidelines of a human rights meeting in Dublin earlier Thursday.

Meanwhile, U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said that intelligence shows Syrian President Bashar al-Assad may be considering using chemical weapons as rebel successes in the civil war put more and more pressure on his government.

The White House has warned Mr. Assad that using chemical gas against his own people would be a “red line” for the United States and bring serious consequences.

Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Maqdad has told Lebanese television that if Syria had chemical weapons, it would not use them against the Syrian people. He said the West is using threat of chemical weapons as an excuse to intervene. VoA.

The leader of the Islamist Palestinian terrorist group Hamas arrived on Gaza Strip soil Friday, ending 45 years of exile from the Palestinian territories.

Khaled Meshaal had not visited the Palestinian territories since leaving the Israeli-occupied West Bank after the 1967 Six-Day War. He kissed the ground shortly after his arrival and hugged friends and Hamas leaders.

Officials say Meshaal will celebrate the Hamas movement's 25th anniversary on Saturday during his trip to the Palestinian enclave.

The trip comes after a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas ended eight days of conflict. The violence killed more than 170 Palestinians and six Israelis.

Hamas won a parliamentary majority in the 2006 Palestinian legislative election and ousted Fatah forces in pitched gunbattles from Gaza a year later. Since then, the two sides have led rival governments in the West Bank and Gaza. VoA.

Kapisa ProvinceAfghan National Security Forces and coalition forces detained four insurgents during an engagement in Say District. The detained insurgents were transferred to a base for questioning.

Khowst ProvinceAfghan National Army soldiers and coalition forces found and safely cleared two IEDs in Musa Khel District.

Logar ProvinceAfghan National Security Forces found and safely cleared two IEDs in Pul-E Alam District.

Nangarhar ProvinceAfghan National Army soldiers and coalition forces found and safely cleared one IED in Bati Kot District.

Paktya ProvinceAfghan National Army soldiers and coalition forces discovered a weapons cache in Sayid Karam District. The cache contained small arms, ammunition, 120lbs of homemade explosives, and one mobile motor system vehicle.

Wardak ProvinceAfghan National Army soldiers and coalition forces discovered a weapons cache in Sayyidabad District. The cache contained one container of homemade explosives.

Eleanor Roosevelt had a career on radio
that began in the 1920s and expanded while Franklin Roosevelt was
president. She had commercial sponsors but gave the money she earned at
this time to charity, such as the American Friends Service Committee.

Speaking in a personal,
conversational style, with a high pitched voice and clear, upperclass
East Coast diction, ER delivered listeners for her sponsors and proved
that she was worth large sums to advertisers. She was especially
interested in the participation of women in civic life and issues of
education and youth. Between 1933 and 1945 Eleanor Roosevelt’s White
House broadcasts addressed the challenges that depression and war posed
as well as lighter topics and commentary. After 1945 ER continued her
radio broadcasts with a focus on human rights, the Cold War, and world
peace.

Beginning in October 1941 ER gave 26 Sunday evening broadcasts sponsored by thePan-American Coffee Bureau (eight Latin American coffee growing nations), and earneda total of $28,000. Through these broadcasts she helped to ready the American peoplefor war. On the fateful Sunday, December 7, she changed her prepared remarks to rallyher listeners behind the administration as the country entered the war. (source)

For the last year I have been saving a YouTube video
of Eleanor Roosevelt's radio address about Pearl Harbor, only to find
this week that it has been removed from the internet, and I can't find
it anywhere. However, the transcript of her December 7 radio address still exists. From the FDR Library, here's an excerpt of the original draft:

A court in Bosnia-Herzegovina has sentenced an Islamist terrorist to 18 years in prison for last year's gun attack on the U.S. embassy in Sarajevo.

The state court in Sarajevo Thursday found Mevlid Jasarevic guilty of a terrorist attack by shooting at the U.S. embassy from an automatic weapon in October 2011. Jasarevic's alleged accomplices were acquitted.

Judge Branko Peric, who presided over the panel of judges, said the harsh sentence should serve as a warning to others. He said Jasarevic told the court, “You can punish me but the attacks won't stop.” The 24-year-old cited the U.S. presence in Afghanistan as the motive for his attack.

U.S. Ambassador to Bosnia Patrick Moon welcomed the ruling.

The United States also indicted Jasarevic after Bosnia did. Moon said the two nations have had close co-operation on the case and will continue to do so.

Jasarevic fired more than 100 bullets during the 50-minute shooting. One policeman was wounded before security forces shot Jasarevic in the leg and arrested him.

He is a citizen of neighboring Serbia who had joined an Islamist group in northeastern Bosnia. But the court rejected charges that he organized a terrorist group.

His lawyer said the prison sentence was too long and that his client will appeal. VoA.

Pakistani Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf expressed concern over U.S. drone strikes in his country during a meeting Thursday in Islamabad with U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan Richard Olson.

The prime minister's office released a statement saying that in the meeting, Mr. Ashraf called the attacks counterproductive and urged alternative means to eliminate terrorists.

Mr. Ashraf's office said the U.S. ambassador noted the concern of Pakistan's government and people and promised to convey it to Washington.

Thursday's talks came as a suspected U.S. drone strike killed three reported terrorists in northwestern Pakistan near the Afghan border.

Pakistani intelligence officials say the drone fired two missiles into a house in Mubarak Shahi, located in the North Waziristan tribal area. North Waziristan is a stronghold of al-Qaida- and Taliban-linked terrorists.

Pakistan has repeatedly criticized U.S. drone attacks as a violation of the country's sovereignty, but American officials say the strikes are a key tool in defeating al-Qaida and Taliban-linked terrrorists.

During Thursday's meeting, Prime Minister Ashraf and Ambassador Olson also discussed ties between the United States and Pakistan. Mr. Ashraf said recent interactions between the two countries “have been very encouraging.”

Olson told the prime minister that the U.S. appreciates Pakistan's contributions to the fight against terrorism and wants a long-term relationship with Pakistan based on mutual respect and common interest.

Relations between the two countries were severely strained after Pakistan closed NATO supply routes into Afghanistan following U.S.-led coalition airstrikes that mistakenly killed 24 Pakistani troops near the Afghan border in November of 2011. The government reopened the supply lines in July. VoA.

Thursday, December 06, 2012

Afghan officials say the country's intelligence chief is in surgery after being wounded in an assassination attempt in Kabul.

The National Security Directorate said Asadullah Khalid was wounded in a terrorist attack Thursday when an explosion hit a guest house in the capital. Khalid reportedly suffered injuries to the lower part of his body, but medical officials say they are not life-threatening.

President Hamid Karzai visited Khalid in the hospital and said he may be sent abroad for treatment.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it was a suicide bombing and that a number of other intelligence officials also were wounded. Afghan officials have not commented on those claims.

Khalid, who is close to the Karzai family, took over the intelligence agency in September after the president reshuffled his Cabinet. Since taking over, Khalid has led an aggressive campaign against the Taliban.

Prior to becoming intelligence chief, Khalid served as Afghanistan's minister of tribal and border affairs and as a provincial governor. VoA.

UPDATE: A pair of suicide bombers attacked an army camp in northwestern Pakistan Wednesday, killing at least three soldiers and wounding more than 20 others.

Security officials say the attackers rammed their vehicle packed with explosives into a gate at the camp in Wana, the main town in the South Waziristan tribal area.

South Waziristan is one of Pakistan's seven federally administered tribal agencies. The military has launched several offensives in the region targeting the Taliban and terrorists linked to al-Qaida who have strongholds in the porous border area.

U.S. drone strikes, which are unpopular in Pakistan, also regularly target terrorists in the region.

Last week, a suicide bombing in Wana wounded Maulvi Nazir, the main terrorist commander in South Waziristan.

Separately, the “Global Index on Terrorism 2012″ report released Tuesday ranked Pakistan the nation second most affected by terrorism in 2011, out of 158 countries.

The report put out by the Australia-based Institute for Economics and Peace says terrorist attacks in Pakistan last year killed nearly 1,500 people.

Thousands of Pakistanis have been killed in terrorist attacks since 2001, following the 9/11 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington in 2001.

ORIGINAL: Two suicide bombers have attacked an army camp in northwestern Pakistan, killing at least two soldiers and wounding several others.

Pakistani security officials say the attackers Wednesday drove a vehicle packed with explosives into a gate at the camp in Wana, the main town in the South Waziristan tribal area.

South Waziristan is one of Pakistan's seven federally-administered tribal agencies. The military has launched several offensives in the region targeting al-Qaida- and Taliban-linked terrorists who have strongholds in the porous border area.

U.S. drone strikes, which are unpopular in Pakistan, also regularly target militants in the region.

Last week, a suicide bombing in Wana wounded Maulvi Nazir, the main militant commander in South Waziristan. VoA.

The Department of Defense announced today the death of two soldiers who were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

They died Dec. 3, in Lashkar Gah City, Helmand province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked their unit with an improvised explosive device. They were assigned to the 818th Engineer Company, 164th Engineer Battalion, Williston, N.D.

Killed were:

Sgt. 1st Class. Darren M. Linde, 41, of Sidney, Mont., and

Spc. Tyler J. Orgaard, 20, of Bismarck, N.D.

"He which hath no stomach to this fight let him depart. But we in it shall be remembered. We few, we happy few, we band of brothers!! For he today, that sheds his blood with me, shall always be my brother.” (W.Shakespeare) Rest in peace my Brothers, you have not been forgotten.

Wednesday, December 05, 2012

Egyptian protesters are camped out at Cairo's Tahrir Square and in front of the presidential palace to urge President Mohamed Morsi, of the Muslim Brotherhood, to step down.

Some of the protesters Wednesday have vowed not to leave until Mr. Morsi abolishes a decree he issued last month granting him sweeping powers that place him above review from the judiciary.

On Tuesday, Egyptian riot police fired tear gas outside the presidential palace, where tens of thousands of protesters had gathered as Mr. Morsi was inside conducting business. Police tried to stop the crowd from storming the palace but soon retreated and let the marchers through a barrier and up to the palace walls. Egyptian officials say Mr. Morsi had left the palace during the march.

Many of the marchers chanted the same anti-government slogans used in the uprising that toppled former president Hosni Mubarak.

Protest leaders called Tuesday's march a last warning to Mr. Morsi to back down from his decree. They are also against a draft constitution that was drawn up by Islamists, without input from secularists and liberals.

China has received poor marks in an annual corruption index, underscoring a worsening problem that Communist Party leaders have acknowledged could threaten their grip on power.

Transparency International's index on state corruption again placed China well down in the rankings at number 80 out of the 176 countries where perceptions of official graft were measured. It ranked 75th in last year's index.

The report released Wednesday said China was perceived to be more corrupt than Saudi Arabia, but less than other Communist-ruled countries such as Vietnam and North Korea. Beijing scored just 39 out of a possible 100 points in the study.

China's Communist Party has vowed to crack down on official corruption, which has been highlighted by several high-profile scandals involving senior leaders.

Last month, state media quoted incoming President Xi Jinping as saying that if corruption were allowed to run rampant, the party risked major unrest or the end of the party and the state.

Xi was named Communist Party chief last month at the 18th National Congress, which unveiled China's next generation of new leaders to Chinese subjects, without any input from the people.

The once-a-decade power transfer has been complicated by a scandal involving senior politician Bo Xilai, who was once considered a favorite for a top leadership spot.

Bo is under investigation for corruption and abuse of power, while his wife has been convicted of murdering a British businessman over a financial dispute.

Meanwhile, state media said Wednesday another high-ranking official has been placed under investigation for graft. The official Xinhua news agency said Sichuan deputy party boss Li Chuncheng was being investigated by the party's discipline watchdog. It did not mention any suspected wrongdoings.

Beijing says an astonishing 600,000 party officials have been exposed for corruption-related activities since 2007. Of those, only 200,000 were referred to Chinese courts for prosecution.

But many observers say progress will be difficult in curbing corruption, partly because of the lack of independence in China's courts, which are heavily influenced by the Communist Party.

Islamist terrorists have gone on a murderous rampage in a village in northern Nigeria, killing at least 10 Christians.

Residents of Chibok in Borno state say the gunmen stormed into the village late Saturday and targeted Christians. Witnesses say the suspects killers slit the throats of their victims and burned down their homes.

Nigerian officials have not yet confirmed the details of the attack, but one official says it is likely the work of the Islamist group Boko Haram.

Human rights groups blame Boko Haram for more than 3,000 deaths since 2009 as it tries to set up a an Islamist state in northern Nigeria. Its terrorist targets are primarily police stations and Christian churches.

The name Boko Haram means “Western education is a sin” in the Hausa language. VoA.

"He which hath no stomach to this fight let him depart. But we in it shall be remembered. We few, we happy few, we band of brothers!! For he today, that sheds his blood with me, shall always be my brother.” (W.Shakespeare) Rest in peace my Brothers, you have not been forgotten.

Tuesday, December 04, 2012

President Barack Obama says nuclear terrorism is still one of the world's greatest security threats, despite success in cutting U.S. and Russian nuclear stockpiles.

Mr. Obama said Monday that terrorists and criminal gangs are doing everything to get their hands on nuclear, biological and chemical materials. He said these materials are being stored without enough protection.

He said the world cannot allow the 21st century to be darkened by the worst weapons of the 20th century.

Mr. Obama also called for an updated agreement with Russia, which has announced it will not renew its participation in the Nunn-Lugar pact — the 20-year-old law that eliminates nuclear missiles and chemical weapon stockpiles in the former Soviet Union.

President Obama said that thanks to Nunn-Lugar, thousands of missiles, bombers and submarines have been destroyed or deactivated.

The Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction program was the brainchild of former Democratic Senator Sam Nunn and retiring Republican Senator Richard Lugar. VoA.

A U.S. Navy spokesman says no American drones are missing in the Middle East, after Iran state media said the country has “captured” an American drone that entered Iranian airspace over Persian Gulf waters.

The Navy spokesman said Tuesday all drones in the region are “fully accounted for.”

Media reports in Iran said an unmanned ScanEagle drone was captured by the naval unit of the Revolutionary Guards as it was patrolling and gathering information. The reports do not elaborate on where or how the drone was captured.

Last month, Iran confirmed a Pentagon report that two Iranian warplanes fired on an unarmed U.S. drone in the Gulf.

The report countered the Pentagon's contention that the U.S. aircraft was over international waters. It said an unmanned Predator drone was on a surveillance mission on November 1 when the Iranian military fired at and missed the drone.

Though the U.S. routinely conducts surveillance missions over to Iran to check on nuclear facilities and other sites, the Pentagon says the November incident was the first time Iran had fired on one of its drones. VoA.

Khowst ProvinceAfghan National Security Forces and coalition forces found and safely cleared one IED in Terezayi District.

Logar ProvinceAfghan National Security Forces and coalition forces detained two insurgents during an engagement in Barak District. The detained suspects were transferred to a base for questioning.

Nangarhar ProvinceAfghan Uniformed Police found and safely cleared one IED in Achin District. Afghan National Security Forces detained four insurgents during an engagement in Bati Kot District. The detained suspects were transferred to a base for questioning.

Paktika ProvinceAfghan National Security Forces and coalition forces found and safely cleared one IED in Bermal District.

Paktya ProvinceAfghan National Army soldiers and coalition forces found and safely cleared one IED in Sayid Karim District.

The deadliest incident occurred in Nadir Shah Kot district, Khost province, around noon today, when an insurgent threw a grenade at ANA vehicles as they were moving through a busy local market. The explosion injured 17 civilians, including one woman and four children. All wounded civilians were transported to nearby medical facilities for care.

The Khost Provincial Governor, Abdul Jabbar Naeemi, condemned the act of the enemies of Islam and the people of Afghanistan with the strongest terms.

“Once again, the insurgents, the enemies of Islam and humanity, with their satanic, terroristic and cowardly act, wounded innocent civilians, including women and children and put more ordinary families of Afghanistan in mourning,” said Naeemi. “The enemies of Islam, peace and humanity ... want to disturb public civil order and create fear and violence among people, and with that they want to serve their inauspicious purposes.”

Despite the efforts of the enemies of the Government of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, ISAF forces in eastern Afghanistan remain committed to partnering with their Afghan National Security Forces counterparts to secure a stable and prosperous future for the Afghan people.

“The noble citizens of Khost and Afghan security forces will work together and will not allow anyone to distort the security or disturb the public civil order in Khost,” said Naeemi.

The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced today that the remains of a serviceman, missing in action from the Vietnam War, have been identified and will be returned to his family for burial with full military honors.

Army Sgt. John R. Jones, of Louisville, Ky., will be buried Dec. 6, in Arlington National Cemetery. On June 4, 1971, Jones was part of a U.S. team working with indigenous commandos to defend a radio-relay base, known as Hickory Hill, in Quang Tri Province, South Vietnam. When enemy forces attacked the site, Jones and another serviceman took up a defensive position in a nearby bunker. The following morning, Jones was reportedly killed by enemy fire and the other soldier was captured and held as a POW until 1973.

From 1993 to 2010, joint U.S.-Socialist Republic of Vietnam (S.R.V.) teams, led by the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC), conducted several investigations, surveyed the site and interviewed multiple witnesses, including those involved in the battle. During that time, analysts from JPAC and DPMO evaluated wartime records and eyewitness accounts to determine possible excavation sites. In 2011, another joint U.S.-S.R.V team located human remains in a bunker suspected to be the last known location of Jones.

For the identification of the remains, scientists from JPAC and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory (AFDIL) used circumstantial evidence and forensic identification tools, such as dental records and mitochondrial DNA that matched Jones' mother and brother.

Since 1973 more than 900 servicemen have been accounted for from the Vietnam War, and returned to their families for burial with military honors. The U.S. government continues to work closely with the governments of Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia to recover all Americans lost in the conflict.

Sunday, December 02, 2012

Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi has set a date of December 15 for a national referendum on a controversial new constitution that has sparked large protests.

Mr. Morsi announced the date after Egypt's Islamist-dominated assembly handed its final draft of the constitution to him late Saturday.

The draft constitution mandates the principles of Sharia law as the main source of legislation.

Earlier Saturday, tens of thousands of Islamists demonstrated across Egypt in support of Mr. Morsi and the draft constitution. Supporters gathered outside Cairo University and elsewhere, waving Egyptian flags, raising banners and demanding the implementation of what they called “God's law.”

The Muslim Brotherhood called for the rallies.

Also Saturday, thousands of protesters demonstrated in Cairo's Tahrir Square for a ninth straight day against the president and the draft constitution. They have been voicing opposition to a decree giving Mr. Morsi extraordinary powers.

The Egyptian leader caused a political uproar when he granted himself sweeping new powers that bar the judiciary from challenging his decisions. Mr. Morsi said Thursday the decree will end immediately once the people vote on the constitution.

Mr. Morsi has been waging a battle with Egypt's judges, many of whom are opponents of the Muslim Brotherhood that dominates Egypt's parliament. The president is a former member of the once-banned group.

On Sunday, Egypt's top judicial power is expected to rule on whether to dissolve the country's Islamist-led assembly.

In recent days, about 30 Christian, liberal and secular members have boycotted the assembly to protest what they call the hijacking of the process by Islamists loyal to President Morsi.

At least two people have been killed and hundreds injured in Egypt's nationwide demonstrations. VoA.

South Korean officials say Somali pirates have released four commercial seamen they had held for 19 months, after the payment of a ransom.

A South Korean foreign ministry official said Saturday the ministry had assisted in ransom talks between the ship's owner and the pirates, but declined to say how much had been paid for their release. The men are now on board a South Korean navy ship.

The sailors were among the crew of the tanker MT Gemini, who were captured on April 30, 2011, while traveling from Kenya to Malaysia.

Seven months later, the pirates freed the vessel, but broke an agreement to release all of the crew, keeping the four Koreans captive, while releasing the 21 non-Korean sailors.

The pirates released most of the crew after the tanker's Singaporean owners paid a ransom reportedly totaling $6 million.

The waters off Somalia are notorious for pirate attacks, but the has seen such incidents fall sharply this year as AfriCom Troops push al-Qaeda affiliated al-Shabab Islamist terrorists out of strongholds in ports and other areas. VoA.

Afghanistan

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For a few bucks more you can get a signed copy from the author himself! http://www.deltabravosierra.us/2011/02/10/a-word-about-the-new-book/comment-page-1/#comment-3383
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Profound Classics

Ace Of Spades: Why Language MattersIn this article, Ace of Spades demonstrates how the writing style of "journalists" and other writers is purposely used to influence the electorate. He explains this far better than I have been able to do, but this is the foundation of why I could no longer be silent.